The Government has launched a 12-week public consultation as part of its drive to roll out pay-as-you-go usage to more rail stations.

The Rail Minister has launched a consultation on possible roll-out of pay-as-you-go (PAYG) to more rail stations

The consultation seeks feedback from passengers in the south east to see how PAYG – swiping in and out at the ticket barrier with a bank or smart card – could be extended in the region as well as across more regional and urban commuter areas by 2020.

According to the Government, PAYG, along with smartcards and barcode options, can make passenger journeys faster and more convenient. The aim is to build on ‘smart ticketing’ alternatives to paper tickets that already cover almost all of the network.

Rail Minister Andrew Jones said: “We want to make rail journeys simpler and easier for passengers. Smart ticketing is the modern answer – offering simpler fares, fairer deals and less confusion for passengers.

“This consultation is about finding out what works for people, and we want to know how pay-as-you-go could make life easier for passengers who make hundreds of millions of journeys each year.

“We have already invested £80m in smart ticketing nationally and this has helped to speed up smartcard roll-out so that smart tickets are available across almost all the network.”

For more details on the consultation and to make a submission, click here.